Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Cartoonists Descend on Ottawa

I apologize for the void that has been this blog as of late (more drawings, comics and animation to come soon). I've had a very busy summer which just culminated with the art show David DeGrand and I co-curated at the Canteen Gallery in Ottawa. The opening was this past Friday night, August 27th.

"Seduction of the Idiots"

Here's the show blurb that David wrote up(he also designed the poster):

Comics have long been accused of transforming young, impressionable children into savage maniacs incapable of existing as productive members of society. This is of course, completely ridiculous. At worst, comics warp fragile minds into wanting to become cartoonists themselves, which is arguably slightly better than the juvenile delinquent scenario. In any case, comics are here to stay, whether uptight citizens like it or not. The artists on display in “Seduction of the Idiots” are all examples of what can happen when comic and cartoon addiction is not dealt with early enough. Let this art show serve as a warning to parents everywhere; know what your child is watching and reading every second of their lives. The last thing you want is to be the parent of an idiot.

I didn't have the best camera on hand, but I snapped a few photos right before the opening (which can be viewed larger by clicking on them).

(Left to right) John Martz, Bob Flynn, Michael DeForge

Chris "Elio" Eliopoulos, David DeGrand

Kaz, J.R. Goldberg, Rebecca Sugar, Dan Moynihan

...and here's a smattering of close-ups.

I had a great time at the opening—many thanks to everyone who attended. The show is up until September 12th, so be sure to stop by Canteen on Dalhousie if you happen to be in the area.

A bunch more thank-you's: First, to all the artists who accepted our invitation and took the time to create and prepare artwork for the show. I realize how much time and effort goes into this (having been in other shows), so it's immensely appreciated.

Of course, a big thank you goes out to Inaas Kiryakos, who invited David and I to curate the show in the first place. It was a bit of a mad dash to get everything ready for the opening, so thanks for helping us reach the finish line!

A HUGE thank you to my wife Loren, who was an enormous help designing and hanging everything when we arrived in Ottawa. I definitely couldn't have done it without her. She also snapped this photo of me (yes, this is what I look like).

And last but not least: DAVID! Thank you for all your help, ideas, and inspiration along the way, bud! The two of us definitely plan on doing another show in the future.

2 comments:

Bob, it was an absolute pleasure working with you on this show. For our first art show as curators, I'm so proud of what we accomplished. I can't thank you and Loren enough for all your hard work setting it up, you guys are the best! Here's to many more (or as many as our sanity allows us :)